


Matching the Rhythm

by Hierarchical



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Friendship, Gen, One Shot, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-11 19:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15322662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hierarchical/pseuds/Hierarchical
Summary: Yukari can't quite seem to get the dance to this song down. Luckily, she has Aigis to help her.





	Matching the Rhythm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RKS](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RKS/gifts).



Moving your feet to the rhythm. How hard can it be? The answer? Very.

No matter how hard Yukari tried, she simply could not get it. Pop music with English lyrics blared from her speakers as the second-year student danced along, attempting to perfect the choreography she learned in practice. Only, she wasn’t any better, and if not, worse.

Every misstep rewarded an angry profanity muttered under her breath and a roll of her tawny eyes; the tripping coupled with a world of pain.

Could she really do this?

She picked herself up off the ground, dusted off her knees and her black and pink skirt, walked over to the speakers and turned them off.

Enough was enough—ten-minute break.

She tottered over to the corner of her door room, rested her back against the wall and casually slid down. Her feet felt like she had been walking on hot coals, her legs seared like a white-hot flame, but the pain began to slowly fade, even if at a pace far more delayed than the ideal. 

She closed her eyes and sighed tiredly. This moment of respite was still like heaven—a gainsay that was the hell of dancing.

Or… it was supposed to be.

When she opened her eyes again, her cheeks instantly overcome by a subtle pink tint.

“Aigis…?”

The robot in the doorway smiled, clasping her hands in front of her. 

“Hello, Yukari-san,” she said in the most diplomatic, friendly voice possible.

“H-Hi, Aigis,” the brunette replied, visibly embarrassed. “Did I… leave the door unlocked?”

“Yes. If I am correct you were… dancing?”

Yukari felt like a complete idiot for not locking her door, but at the very least, it was Aigis. Not Junpei or someone else she wouldn’t want walking in on her stumbling and tumbling.

“‘Dancing’,” she said sarcastically, yet with a little smile. “Yeah. I’m practicing… uh, I don’t think I’m very good at it. I just wanna take a break for now.”

“Oh.” She paused for a second as if thinking. “Well, are you okay? You fell a lot.”

Yukari’s blush spread further across her cheeks. “Oh… you saw that?”

“It was audible from the first floor. You fell twenty-eight times. Fuuka-san was very worried.”

Yukari’s mouth went slightly agape at that, her eyes wide. “You… and _other people_ heard me falling?” Aigis nodded and Yukari asked, “Who?”

“Well, currently it is only me and Fuuka-san downstairs, however, Akihiko-san and Mitsuru-san came by around the eleventh fall and left before the seventeenth.”

“Oh geez,” she slapped her head onto her forehead, “but I’m okay, really. It’s just I’m really embarrassed right now. Do you know how long I’ve been dancing?”

“Around two hours.”

“God, I must suck.”

“Suck? At dancing?”

“Yeah,” Yukari admitted. “I guess there’s no point in keeping it a secret anymore…” Nervously, she scratched her shoulder, pausing briefly before asking, “Do you know about my job…?”

“You… model, correct?”

“Yeah,” the brunette answered. “It’s been a rough few months, but it’s fun. Until… my manager signed me up to dance in this J-Pop music video with like, English words that I don’t really understand. It’s a good song though, I think, and he took me to dance practice for the choreography, but I just can’t really seem to get it done. I only told Minato and Mitsuru-senpai about it, because, well, Senpai can dance, and Minato _knows_ I have two left feet. Because… you know…”

“Because you dance a lot?” Aigis asked curiously, yet smirking subtly.

“H-Hey, you don’t have to say it out loud like that, Aigis!” she whisper-shouted, the pink on her cheeks metamorphosing into a crimson-red. “Yes… we… we dance a lot,” she said, her lips tugging upward into a shy, shaky smile.

“And you’re still not very good? I thought practice made perfect.”

“Well, sometimes some people need to practice more than other people…”

“Well, if you’d like to dance more, I’d like to dance with you, Yukari-san.”

“You… wanna dance with me?” Yukari asked, surprised.

Aigis smiled and nodded politely. “Yes. If it would help. Though, I will admit that I have never danced before.”

Yukari was sure that Aigis could dance. Literally, everything else that Aigis hadn’t done before, she would manage to pick up quickly. There was no implication that this time would be any different. She was a bit jealous at times, but… _robots_. Aigis’ calculations and ability to grasp new things quickly thanks to her high-functioning A.I. would always be far superior to hers.

“Ugh,” Yukari waved at Aigis dismissively, “yeah sure. My legs hurt though. I don’t know if I can really stand. Just lemme…”

Using the wall, she pulled herself back up to her aching feet, the pain instantly intensifying, but it wasn’t as bad as before. She winced, but she could bear standing. She sauntered over to Aigis.

“How long have you been watching?” Yukari asked.

“About thirteen minutes,” the robot answered. “It’s a J-Pop song, correct? Can you dance to slower songs?”

“Like waltzing? Uh, no not really… I’m really bad like I said. I have two left feet.”

“Well, maybe that’s where we should start. If we start with slower songs, we will be able to get better at the faster ones. Do you have any waltz songs on your laptop?”

“I have one. Just, gimme a second.”

She hurried back over to her laptop and speakers as quickly as she could without spraining herself too badly and then back to Aigis, extending her hands, and she did the same. Fingers of flesh clung tightly to fingers of metal and regular brown eyes met blue ones that doubled as iron sights.

“Should I start moving?” Yukari asked.

“If you want. I could do so as well,” Aigis said. “I have seen waltzing on television before. I think I could do it.”

“Then you should…”

Aigis nodded and began moving. Forward then backward, forward then backward at a steady pace. She was like a metronome. Yukari made her best attempt at matching the rhythm, smiling at the familiar melody that she had her boyfriend had danced to many times before. Just from hearing it, she felt emotion overwhelm her. Happiness. Nostalgia. Maybe a bit of guilt for doing this with someone who was Minato.

Suddenly the brunette yelped as she accidentally dug her right foot onto the ground, subsequently closing her eyes and biting her lip.

She held tightly onto Yukari’s hands, and concerned, she asked, “Are you alright, Yukari-san?”

“Y-Yeah,” she mumbled, wincing in pain. “Stop for a second.”

Obeying the command, Aigis stopped, looking into Yukari’s eyes and slowly releasing her hands and letting the girl stand on her own. Stand wasn’t the right word… more like stumble. In order to prevent herself from falling, she quickly sat on the ground, kicked off her sneakers and peeled off her socks. Even Aigis cringed at the blisters and abundance of red marks that plagued the soles of her feet.

“Ouch,” Yukari said aloud, sucking air through her teeth as she benevolently worked her thumbs against her injuries.

“I should get the first-aid kit,” Aigis said, moving towards the door. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. You must have a few bruises beneath your clothing from falling before. I’ll be back soon.”

Without a reply from the girl, Aigis rushed out of the room, leaving Yukari to suffer in silence. She hurried to the bathroom and hastily grabbed the first-aid kit, double-checking its contents before speeding back over to Yukari’s dorm, dropping to her knees and instantly tending to her wounds.

Pulling out an alcohol swab, the robot said, “This is going to hurt okay… I’ll do it slowly.” Carefully, she lowered it onto one of the blisters on Yukari’s left foot and began dabbing slowly. That didn’t stop the pain that Yukari was clearly feeling, as she continued to viciously suck air through her teeth and closed her eyes.

“Ouch, ouch! Stop for a second.” Obeying, Aigis pulled away the swab and Yukari reopened her eyes. “Sorry, I just needed a minute. It hurts bad.”

“Of course, Yukari-san,” Aigis said with a smile.

“Thanks by the way…”

“Thanks? For what?”

“For dancing with me, I mean. I appreciate it a lot. I was kinda scared to ask for help, so I’m glad you offered to help me.”

Aigis chuckled slightly at that. “Of course, Yukari-san. How soon do you need to learn this dance by?”

“Uh, like in two weeks? But, I’ve been practicing a lot. I just need to get the hard bits down.”

“Is one of the ‘hard bits’ the jump into the pirouette?” 

Yukari’s eyes widened in shock. “Huh?! How did you know?”

“You feel there eleven times.”

“Well,” embarrassment pulled her eyes away from Aigis’, “yeah… That part I _really_ can’t seem to get down. It’s hard, you know. Swab.”

Aigis put the swab against Yukari’s foot again and began dabbing gingerly once again. “Hmm, maybe I could try it. You could watch me do it.”

“But… you don’t know the dance,” the brunette said through clenched teeth.

When she was finished, she began bandaging the girl’s foot. “I do. I’ve seen you go through it in full. Once I eliminate the stumbling, I should be able to do it.”

“Ow!”

“Are you okay?”

“It’s just a little tight…”

“I can fix that. One moment.”

As Aigis began readjusting the bandages, Yukari asked, “So, you want to do the dance?”

The robot chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind. It looks like it could be fun.”

“Well, worth a shot.”

Once Aigis finished with the left foot, she moved to the right, carefully and precisely repeating the actions on the other one. Even though it was only for a few minutes, it felt like it had lasted for an eternity for the brunette. The process was painful for Yukari, who cycled through wincing in pain, clenching her teeth, gnawing at her bottom lip, and saying ‘ouch’ repeatedly.

“All done,” Aigis said with a smile. “How does it feel?”

“Painful,” the girl answered, “but better. I definitely need a break after this. I can put back on the music and let you dance to it.”

“If you can stand.”

“I can. Don’t worry…” 

Yukari placed her hands on the floor and pushed upwards in an attempt to push herself to her feet. Ultimately, she succeeded, but not without some very unstable stumbles and wobbles. Aigis quickly rushed to her aid, grabbing her shoulders and steadying her.

“Ow, but thanks again, Aigis.”

“Do you need help walking?”

“No, I’ll be fine!” she quickly dismissed in a singsong voice. Immediately, she took a step forward and wobbled again. “Ugh,” she rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Yes, I do.”

Aigis nodded and slowly guided Yukari over to her laptop and speakers. The robot watched as she went through her files, found the song and played it. There was a brief intro before she actually needed to dance, so using that tight window of time, she ensconced Yukari onto her bed and took her position.

The brunette watched as her former dancing partner ran through the choreography of the song, dancing along to the upbeat melody. For someone who hadn’t danced before, she was no short of a master at it, nailing every complex move at the exact time needed. She could do it all: the rolls, the hops, the jumps; even the move that Yukari struggled with—all with precise, pin-point accuracy. When the song was over, Aigis finished in a pose that resulted with her knelt on the ground, hands in the air and doing jazz hands.

Yukari’s mouth went slightly agape at the display. “Wow…” she uttered in amazement.

“How was that?” Aigis asked.

“I’m jealous. You were _amazing_.”

“Thank you,” Aigis said with a soft smile. “Do you think you understand better?”

“A lil’ bit, but I’m in no position to really… try it out. I’m too sore from today. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Hmm, would you like to dance again? I enjoyed dancing with you, Yukari-san!”

“Huh? You mean it…?” Yukari looked off and grabbed her shoulder. “Sure, Aigis,” she said with a smile. “It’s a little embarrassing though, you asking that… I’m not very good.”

“Well, I’ll help you to get better then.”

She turned back to the robot. “Like, you’ll coach me?”

Aigis nodded. “Yes. I… would like that. I did enjoy dancing with you.”

“Okay. Deal,” Yukari said laying back onto her bed. “We’ll dance another time. Right now though, I should probably go to bed so I heal quick. I, um, I appreciate today, Aigis. Thank for the help.”

“It was no problem. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.”

“Yeah, night.”

“Good night, Yukari-san.”

Aigis turned off the laptop and speakers and flipped the light switch before exiting, leaving Yukari with the darkness and the mild aches in her body. She pulled the sheets over her and rested her tired head against the pillow. Her thoughts drifted on today’s events, the smallest of smiles plastered on her face as she drifted off and slept.

Maybe she really just did struggle with dancing, but if she was lucky, and with Aigis’ help. Well, maybe matching the rhythm wouldn’t be so hard.


End file.
